Red Mountain

by Dennis Yates

  They gazed at the rest of the farm, noticing that the barn door had been left open. A padlock hung from a metal hasp. If the inhabitants of the house had gone somewhere it seemed odd they hadn’t closed things up. Unless they just forgot. Or had to leave in a hurry…

  “I’ve got a funny feeling about this,” Will whispered. “Like a fly must feel before you sneak up and swat it.”

  Robert exhaled slowly, trying to settle his nerves. “Then maybe we should hang back a bit, let them show themselves so we’ll know what we’re dealing with.”

  “And end up being out here the rest of the day? No thanks. If it’s just grandma in there with a rifle then I want to know if we’re wasting our time standing out here getting cooked.”

  “Okay then. Let’s do it.”

  Sensing their excitement, Nugget pressed her head between the seats. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two men.

  “What about her?” Will asked.

  “Nugget stays. Until we find out if it’s safe.”

  Moving fast, they slipped out of the truck and approached the porch with their weapons drawn. Robert soon felt the eyes on them too, although he couldn’t tell where the watcher was hiding. For the first time in several hours he’d become aware again of the hellish ordeal his body had been through. The pain buzzed within his flesh like a swarm of stinging wasps.

  “We’ll knock first,” Will whispered, “And if we don’t get an answer right away I’ll kick in the door.”

  “I have no objections to that,” Robert said, breathing heavily. His face was a mask of sweat.

  Will shot him a look.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like shit, but I’ll live. Those pills are wearing off and I’m getting edgy.”

  Both men lunged up the steps to the porch. Robert was about to knock on the front door when they were startled by loud ragged laughter.

  They turned and saw Marsh sitting up on the porch swing. He’d been lying there all along, waiting patiently for them to make their move. Robert leveled his revolver at the man’s head until Will came up from behind and pulled his arm downward.

  “Don’t do it, Bobby, the guy’s got a bomb.”

  Robert hadn’t even noticed. He’d been too distracted by the familiar laugh. The mocking laugh that had been haunting him for the last three days. He then saw what Will was talking about. A bundle of dynamite—maybe six to eight sticks in all—duct taped together and wired to a crude igniter.

  “Welcome, Mr. Crain,” Marsh said around a smoldering cigar. Blood streaked down from gashes in his forehead. His burnt face was as bright red as the dynamite he cradled in his hairless, charred arms. Robert and Will stared. They couldn’t believe a man in Marsh’s shape could still be conscious.

  “Who the hell are you?” Robert asked.

  “You don’t recognize your old friend Marsh? I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you in person. By the way, how’d you enjoy those pictures I took of your family?”

  Robert’s eyes turned to darkened pools. His heart kept a steady cold drum beat.

  “Where are they?”

  “You’ll know shortly,” Marsh said, licking his lips. “You do have the map, don’t you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t play me, Robert. I’m talking about a little oblong-shaped box that speaks to you through its carvings. And inside the box there’s a map. As it turns out, all of you great grandsons of Horn got one. But if you didn’t bring it with you, well, I’m afraid things will get tragic very fast around here.”

  Robert took a step closer. Will grabbed him by the shoulder and held him back.

  “If he sets if off Bobby there’s going to be nothing but a crater here for the locals to come and gawk at…”

  Will glanced over at Marsh, who seemed to be enjoying himself.

  “He has the fucking map.”

  Marsh closed his eyes and smiled. “Your pal is a wise man, Mr. Crain. It must be nice for you to know someone who can keep a cool head.”

  Robert sucked in a deep breath and gradually stopped straining against Will’s hand. Then the curtains in the window behind Marsh began to flutter. A moment later he saw his wife looking out at him from inside the shadowy house.

  Peggy…

  It felt like a lifetime had passed since he’d last seen her. Three evenings ago she’d kissed him goodnight while he lay on the couch doped up after his car accident. He had been restless and incapable of falling asleep that night. Worried about how Nugget was doing at the emergency clinic and concerned he was keeping Peggy from studying for her final exams.

  Robert wished he’d gone back to bed as she’d asked. Maybe he would have been able to ward off the attackers.

  Maybes just don’t cut it now.

  Marsh followed Robert’s eyes and turned his head to see Peggy behind the glass. He wagged his tongue at her suggestively.

  “Hello Peggy. Can you hear us?”

  “Peggy nodded, her eyes locked on Robert’s.

  Marsh turned back to face Robert.

  “Good. This is the deal, folks. Robert and I have a place we must go. But unfortunately the rest of you are not welcome to tag along…”

  “I’m not going anywhere without my wife and son,” Robert said.

  Marsh glared up at him. “Don’t be unreasonable. We’ve come so far now it would be a terrible shame if I just ended everything where it now stands. So look hard into that window Crain, and tell me you don’t care if everyone dies.”

  While Marsh caressed the dynamite with his hand, Robert stared into his wife’s eyes and saw everything she’d been through. Connor stepped beside her and lifted his hand. Robert waved back. Then Peggy motioned her son to leave before raising Wilbur’s pistol in both hands and aiming it at the back of Marsh’s head, waiting for Robert to give her permission. Robert wished he could have said yes but the chance Marsh could still set off the bomb wasn’t worth the risk.

  He shook his head at her not to try.

  When his eyes returned to Marsh he could feel his insides tearing apart. Peggy swayed back from the window, tears streaking through the dirt on her face. A woman Robert did not know came and led her away to the rear of the house where she could no longer be seen.

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe,” Robert said.

  “Now that’s what I like to hear,” Marsh said, “But before we progress any further with the festivities, you two can start by disarming yourselves.”

  Reluctantly, Robert and Will did as they were told.

  Once he was satisfied they had completely disarmed, Marsh got up from the loveseat and walked off the porch with the two men moving cautiously beside him, their eyes never leaving the bundle of dynamite.

  When they were out on the graveled driveway, Marsh ordered them to remove their cell phones and stomp them to pieces. Then he handed Robert a hunting knife and told him to slash the tires of Will’s truck.

  Just as Robert was about to slash the last tire, they heard a vehicle rumbling up the road toward the house. A black SUV skidded to a dead stop within a few feet from where Marsh and Will stood. Mr. Frosty slid out of the passenger seat and limped up to Marsh.

  “About time you got here,” Marsh growled. “What the hell happened to you boys?”

  Mr. Frosty raised his arm and pointed. “Those sons of bitches almost killed me.”

  “Is this true?” Marsh asked.

  Robert and Will didn’t answer.

  “What about the others?” Marsh asked.

  “We lost three back at the railroad tracks.”

  “And how did you luck out and the others didn’t?”

  “I got jumped. Then they took me home and stuck me inside a freezer so they could get me to talk.”

  “So that’s how they found out where I was?”

  Frosty lowered his head like a dog about to be punished.

  “I didn’t tell them anything. Not right away. Then I got so damn cold I could
n’t feel anything anymore. I thought I was going to die. I’m sorry Mr. Marsh. I didn’t want to.”

  “Not to worry Gomez. This is all going to work out just fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. In fact, I’m going to give you a chance for a little payback. So go help yourself to one of those guns up on the porch.”

  Frosty nodded happily and ran off.

  “I think that about does it,” Marsh said. He tossed Robert a set of keys. “Now be a good boy and fetch me my truck. You’ll find it parked behind the house.”

  Robert nodded and walked away while Marsh laughed to himself. “I’m sure glad he’s come to his senses. I’ve got a lot I want to do when this is all over.”

  “Then you better hope we never meet again,” Will glared.

  Splashes echoed up from the bottom the well after Mr. Frosty dumped their remaining weapons. He turned around and walked toward them with Robert’s .38 pointed at their heads.

  Marsh bent next to Mr. Frosty and whispered into his ear. “As soon as we’re gone I want you to mop this place up for me.”

  “What?”

  “Kill the sonofabitch and everyone inside the house. Then burn it all to the ground...”

  A wicked grin cracked across Frosty’s face. “I’ll do it, Mr. Marsh... And after that?”

  “Meet me up on the mountain. I’m going to need your help hauling that gold out of there.”

  CHAPTER 53

  With the sun beating overhead, Carol and Marco were lowered down into the pale blue chasm of the glacier. The ice near the top was thick like milky quartz, but as they made their way inside it became luminous and otherworldly.

  “This is fantastic,” Carol shouted as she repelled deeper. She soon reached the shelf of ice where Marco was waiting for her.

  “It’s only the beginning,” Marco said, unclipping her from her line. Being the first ones down, they took a moment to kiss before Marco took her by the hand and led her through a twisting corridor of ice.

  When they reached the cave, Carol felt as if she was entering the crystalline heart of a giant thunder egg. She couldn’t believe the colors she was seeing now, how the surface—at least two stories above them—absorbed the sunlight above and transformed it into fractal-shaped jewels.

  In all the years she’d spent studying glaciers, she’d seen nothing like this. She wished she’d remembered to pack her camera.

  They followed the cave to the end where the light in the ice grew weaker, until they came to a dome shaped room with a pit scooped out of the ice, the inside of which was blackened with the remnants of charred wood. Along the base of the wall they saw evidence of candle wax drippings preserved under a layer of ice.

  “What is this?” Carol asked, shivering with excitement.

  “Don’t you think it looks like a kind of shrine?”

  “Well if that’s the case, then I don’t understand its purpose.”

  “Hold on and I’ll show you…”

  Marco walked around to the other side of the fire pit and set down his pack. After a few minutes he lit a propane torch and began to wave it across the mostly clouded wall in front of him like a wand.

  The ice melted and cooled, but the surface this time was as clear as glass. Marco leaned closer and stared into the wall.

  “Come over here Carol,” Marco grinned. “I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”

  Marco stepped aside for Carol to see. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the sheer thickness of ice. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the shafts of yellow light far away, reminding her of watching sunlight piercing silver rain clouds on the horizon. At first the only material she saw suspended in the ice were rocks and ghostly clouds of frozen silt, until suddenly the foreground jumped into her vision and her brain registered the dark figure of a man floating before her.

  “Jesus, Marco,” she said, catching his shoulder with her hand to stop from falling onto her back. She saw tiny black dots before her eyes until she regained her breath. She couldn’t get over the fact that the frozen man had been so close all along. It reminded her of the time when she was a child and she’d lost her parents inside the dimly lit horror section of a wax museum, with Jack the Ripper and Dracula seemingly reaching out to grab her by her blonde ponytail.

  Marco laughed softly and held her steady, his eyes intently focused on the space of ice below the phantom man’s boots. Carol finally turned back and looked too, noticing the large leather saddlebags bursting with gold coins. Coins flying off in every direction, surrounding the figure like parade confetti. There was so much gold. And they had the means to take it if they wanted to...

  “What do you think we should do?” Carol finally asked, her limbs trembling from both the excitement and frigid air of the cave. “You can’t just take old treasure without attracting attention.”

  Marco put his arms around her and tried rubbing some warmth into her bones.

  “Relax. I made a few calls. It’s not as difficult as you think. I know someone who can help us. I talked it over with the rest of the team already and they’re up for it. We’ll split it all up evenly and never say another word about it.”

  “So what do we do about him?” Carol said, pointing at Maynard. “Aren’t we going to have to call the authorities? That is a dead body after all. We could be committing all sorts of crimes if we don’t do anything.”

  Marco drew Carol’s face up to his and kissed her on the cheek. When he moved back she could still feel the warm imprint his lips had made on her skin. She stared into his dark eyes and realized she was going to do whatever he said.

  “We’ll try and leave him where he is. If we need to extract him for a short period we can always put him back and fill the place in when we’re done. It’s the least of our troubles, Carol.”

  “So what’s going to be our biggest obstacle?”

  Marco smiled. “To figure out how we’re going to spend our fortunes. They may not be huge but they will be enough to change the course of our lives if we want.”

  Carol pulled away and pressed her chin against the ice for another look at the gold. Marco might be right about this, she thought. If it could at least get her out of debt she might be able to start over. Leave the university and Harold’s bitching and maybe go live somewhere with the man of her dreams.

  “I still can’t believe you found this... With all the ice climbers up here you’d think someone would have discovered it a long time go. It just seems so unreal.”

  “You’re telling me. After I slipped this morning I must have been knocked out for awhile, because when I came too I was convinced I was either dreaming or dead.”

  “So how long do you think it will take to extract all those coins?”

  “Not long. We’ve got all the tools we need.”

  “Then let’s get started immediately.”

  “You’re the boss.”

  Carol smirked. “I’m not so sure anymore.”

  Marco smiled and patted the photocopy of the map he’d kept in his jacket since the beginning of the research trip. When he’d been sure no one was around to see, he’d smoothed it out on the ground and studied it.

  He’d worried all along that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to find the cave, but thanks to Carol’s headaches and an inexperienced team he’d managed to pull it off. Now that they’d seen the gold, there would be little he’d have to do to keep them motivated.

  Everyone has had a dream of finding treasure, he thought. But only a few have the guts to do what it takes to claim it…

  CHAPTER 54

  As soon as Robert and Marsh were out of sight, Mr. Frosty ordered Will to put his hands on his head and make for the barn. Too bad it wasn’t Robert, he thought. He’s the one I’d really like to make suffer. But beggars couldn’t be choosers, and Marsh called the shots.

  Mr. Frosty could feel eyes watching him from inside the house. He didn’t want to panic anyone. If they saw him shoot Will they might run and scatter across the farm, making
things a hell of a lot more complicated than taking care of them in the house all at once.

  Will did as he was asked. His stride was much longer and in no time he was ahead of Mr. Frosty who puffed hard from exertion in the boiling desert heat.

  “Slow down, goddamn you!”

  Will stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around. His body slumped forward like a man being marched to the gallows.

  Short on air, Mr. Frosty smiled painfully as he slowed his pace. His mind was now a whirl of delicious thoughts. Things were beginning to look up, ever since he’d escaped from the psycho’s garage half frozen but still alive. It didn’t take long to find the SUV. The woman talking on her cell phone hadn’t even seen him coming. Boy was she surprised to see a fist heading for her stupid face…

  “So what do you think of yourself now, hot shot?”

  Mr. Frosty ignored how his voice sounded shrill and wobbly, prepubescent. He didn’t even care what the bastard thought. Mr. Frosty was determined to love every minute of this. Killing this prick was going to be the most satisfying thing he’d done in years.

  Will’s pace got him ahead of the little man again. He turned his head to see if Mr. Frosty was catching up. His eyes seemed to catch something behind his executioner, but he quickly looked back to the dark doorway of the barn.

  Does he really think I’m going to fall for it? Talk about desperate. I’m not turning around. Not so he can jump me.

  Mr. Frosty poked Will in the back with the muzzle of his gun and caused him to grunt.

  “You like that?” Mr. Frosty asked. “Just wait until that fucking head of yours is swimming with lead.”

  This time it came out deeper, like the voice of a man who’d already done this many times. Mr. Frosty had found his groove.

  While he’d been locked in Will’s freezer in complete darkness, Mr. Frosty had sworn he’d do anything necessary to have his revenge. He knew he couldn’t ask god for help, so he’d spoken to the dark thing he’d met back when he was spending time in solitary. Four long years inside a concrete box losing his mind. All for assaulting a prison guard with the severed head of rat whose teeth dripped with rabies.